We built this city on rock and roads

     For many people when they think about Cambodia they think of Angkor Wat, one of the most famous places in the world today. This temple is a tourist hotspot and has many times been added into more modern lists of "Wonders of the World". What many people don't know is that this amazing temple is one of thousands grouped into the temples of Angkor.

 

www.devata.org 

     Modern technology is showing us that these thousand dots that scatter across the map of Cambodia may not be just random lone temples but it is now being proven that they are part of a vast ancient city that predates Angkor Wat. The temples of Angkor date from between 800-1400AD, this is widely known as the time period of the Hindu-Buddhist Khmer Empire. An empire whose rich history is still being uncovered today but whose art and architecture are among the most impressive throughout history. A empire that stretched from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and even into southern China.

 

Personal Photo

     Today a team of archaeologists from University of Sydney, led by Director Damian Evans are using Lidar to discover the roads that linked the temples of Angkor together in a city named Mahendraparvata. A city named from Sanskrit meaning "the mountain of the great Indra". It's size has yet to be determined due to the time and money it takes to do this kind of archaeological surveying. It has taken the team about ten years just to get this far with the uncovering of the city. What they do know is that this city even predates the temples themselves being more than 1200 years old.

     Lidar is a new form of remote sensing that uses aerial imaging to be able to detect inconsistencies in topography, soil coloration and other features. It uses laser technology to reflect and analyze light emissions from great heights. They are almost always on a helicopter mount. The analysis can be fed into GIS systems and items discovered can be uploaded into GPS systems. Other discoveries have been found using Lidar in Canada, the US, and Honduras.

     Lidar can't do all the work though and a lot of leg work on the ground is necessary. Cambodia is predominantly harsh, tropical jungles and the work on the ground is very taxing and time consuming. However, already they have discovered roadways, canals and possibly undiscovered temples. Temple discovery has been helped by the knowledge that the Khmer empire built temples out of stone brick work while all other buildings were more simple wood constructions. The other exciting notion is that of the hidden aspect of these treasured buildings. The jungle overgrowth has protected these sites from the naked eye meaning that most all finds using Lidar technology will be untouched, unlooted finds.

 

Personal Photo

     Damian Evans and his crew are very excited to continue their work and determine how big this ancient city really is, how old it really is, and how many untampered temples they may find. Also it is unclear if all the structures will be contemporaneous with the style of Angkor or if a as yet to be discovered older artistic style might be found as they uncover older roadways and temples.

 

www.visit-angkor.org

References:

English Heritage. 2010. The Light Fantastic: Using Airborne Lidar in Archaeological Survey. David M. Jones, Ed. Swindon, England: English Heritage.

Jessup, Helen Ibbitson. 2010. Chapter 3: South-East Asia: The Khmer 802-1566. In The Great Empires of Asia. Jim Masselos, Ed. Pp. 72-103. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Neuman, Scott. 2013. Archaeologists Discover Lost City in Cambodian Jungle. NPR. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/14/191727408/archaeologists-discover-lost-city-in-cambodian-jungle. Accessed June 18, 2013.

Places to Visit:

Angkor Wat: http://www.visit-angkor.org/